Can a teacher do this?

SunshineDaisy, ASN, RN · Nov 17, 2012

Hey, that happened to us this week! Our Peds test was a disaster. The class average was 71%, passing is 75!!

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2012

I'm not sure why you would think a teacher couldn't do this. You admit that you only went over "a bit" of the text book- perhaps the details you didn't go over in class were in the chapters that you were expected to have read- in detail. Prioritization questions are common in nursing and you will find many of these types of questions on NCLEX. Your teacher is doing good by using these types of questions.

nguyency77, CNA · Nov 17, 2012

My patho teacher did the same thing for our last test and half the class was whining and crying about it.

Tests don't measure what you memorized; they measure what you're supposed to have learned. Can you apply the material that was presented? Our tests used to say things like, "What is an example of altered perfusion?" and the answer would be something like "myocardial infarction."

Now they don't. We have to know the concepts in order to answer the questions.

We're adults. We're in college. Nobody is going to hold your hand, give you a sticker for trying, and tell you what's on the test. What's the point otherwise? There is a belief held among fellow students that "anything that isn't gonna be on the test shouldn't have to be studied." Not true. They can only ask so many questions on a test. We're going to become nurses. Your charge nurse is not going to tell you how to care for each patient-- that's up to you and that's why we have to actually learn a lot of things on our own whether or not it's gonna be on the test.

violetgirl · Nov 17, 2012

Yikes! Hang in there future nurse... Study those concepts inside and out...

Thanks for sharing your story, as this information will help me too!

Keep your head in the books. :bookworm:

Blessings~

Dezy · Nov 17, 2012

wow clearly no one on the board can read what I actually said.

morte, LPN, LVN · Nov 17, 2012

and that maybe part of your problem.....that what you are trying to say isn't coming thru. Honestly your first post did come off whiney. Back up, rethink, restate. good luck

wow clearly no one on the board can read what I actually said.

loriangel14, RN · Nov 17, 2012

No teacher can cover EVERYTHING. It is up to you to take responsibility for learning the rest. Like they have said previously, no one is going to spoon feed it to you. They can give you the tools you need to pass the tests but you have to learn how to apply it yourself.When you write the NCLEX it will all be fair game.

Stephalump · Nov 17, 2012

To be fair, even YOU were aware that you were whining in your post. No one thinks you're a child, but much like children, whining rubs people the wrong way. That could be why you feel like people are talking to you like you're a kid.

Your teacher has every right to test you on things she didn't lecture about. I understand that you feel like your tuition should guarantee 100% material coverage, but I don't know what to tell you except that's not how it works. It's just not. Some teachers will baby you and give you a study guide full of test questions. Some will put all tests able info on Pps. Some will lecture out of multiple materials and only give you notes on some of it. Some teachers spend entire class periods talking about their dreams and hobbies and you have to teach yourself EVERYTHING.

If you don't like your teacher's style, have a good whine/moan about it and the suck it up and adjust and do what needs to be done. While everyone else in your class is wasting away the semester complaining, you'll be rising to the top. Not only will that help you get into nursing classes if you aren't already, but it'll help you get through them.

itsnowornever, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2012

Teachers aren't there to hand you information. They are there to give insight on the book. Next time read the book, then power points than practice quiz with rationale.

sharpeimom · Nov 17, 2012

Faculty can't cover absolutely everything in class lectures for a very very simple reason. There is not enough

time! There is so much to cover and time is so limited, that your professors must carefully pick and choose what they can cover during class time.

Should a student choose not to read all of the reading assignments, well then, she must be prepared to live with any consequences of that decision. Pull on your big girl panties and deal with it.

Even though you're allowed to come to allnurses and xxxxx occasionally, you, and you alone, are ultimately responsible for what material you learn and not your professors. I'm not being mean. Just realistic.

rubato, ASN, RN · Nov 17, 2012

I reread your original post so that I cannot be accused of not understanding what you wrote. Yes, you sound a little whiny, but I understand what you were trying to get at.

I did great on our first 2 tests and then sucked on our midterm, because of my study habits. Our professors provide powerpoints, then in lecture, they give some additional info. I have mostly only used those for studying. What I have found, personally, is that I now absolutely must read the tables in the chapters that they want us to read as well as hit the high points throughout the chapter. You did, in fact state that you only read a bit of the book, so this may be the problem.

The professors can test you on any part of the material they choose, whether it be from lecture, from powerpoints, from the chapters you were assigned to read or, in our case, from the GTLs (guides to learning), that are a basic outline of what they want us to take away from that subject. It is not like high school. In fact, when you get past anatomy and physiology, it will get harder. I mean, a lot harder!

Please understand that everyone here is, in fact, trying to be supportive. They are trying to make you aware that this is nursing school and it's time for you to own up to your part in your poor test performance. You can't blame your professor if you didn't read all the material. I bet if you go back through the reading material, you'll find those test answers in there. Yes, we are all here to help each other, but we aren't here to blow smoke up someone's a**. I hope you can use this test as a learning experience and do better on the next one. Good luck!

allnurses Guide · Nov 17, 2012

Doing poorly on exam is something almost every nursing student will experience. It is an awful feeling that no one wants to experience, especially in programs that require an 73-83 to pass the class. I bombed a grad exam once, and I distinctly remember the anger I had about the questions because I felt my grade was not reflective of my knowledge of the material. Within a few days it really hit me that it was my fault, I was able to take responsibility for it, move on and pass the class.

Nursing school will not spoon feed you material. This isn't because "that's the way it is": it's because you need to apply knowledge in practice and you need to pass this big exam called the NCLEX at the end of the program for which there is no PowerPoint and you can be asked anything.

You seem to be lashing out at people for not supporting you like people don't understand: we do, most of us have been through nursing school and passed the boards.